Talking in The Rain
by Ms. Kinnikufan
Summary: Mantaro comforts Jacqueline after Ikeman dies.


Talking In The Rain

By Ms. Kinnikufan

Disclaimer: I own none here.

Ikeman Muscle was dead. The cause of death was his car skidding off a bridge.

Officially, the death was ruled an accident. But some argued that it was a suicide, for Ikeman Muscle was not said to be the most happiest of people. He didn't exactly keep his many issues a secret.

Jacqueline was devastated by her older brother death, and not because she wasn't left in charge. She appeared to have some genuine affection for her older brother, which surprised many, because their arguments seem to stretch beyond sibling rivalry.

It had been about two 1/2 weeks after her brothers death. Jacqueline was sitting in the stadium, caught in a downpour of rain and apparently staring at nothing.

Mantaro trudge up the steps to where Jacqueline was sitting, the rain coming through his cheap orange poncho. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt the burning need to comfort Jacqueline. For one thing he had the knack for saying the most inappropriate thing possible when the most appropriate thing was needed.

Case in point: The funeral of Robin Grande, beloved great-grandfather of Kevin Mask (and the only family member Kevin was actually talked too sometimes).

"He never understood anything about me. But unlike everyone else in the stupid family, he never held it against me either!" Kevin commented between muffled sobs.

Mantaro, who was never sure what to say in situations like this (and wasn't even sure why he had been invited) said the first thing that came to mind: "Well at least that's one less Christmas card you have to worry about sending on time!"

Mantaro still had some of the bruises where the Mask clan put aside their differences and ascended to beat him up. Yes indeed, he sucked so much at cheering people up after losing a loved one. So why was he trying now?

Another memory, one that had taken place mere minutes ago burned in his mind:

"Well, I'm going to go try to cheer up Jacqueline. She's going to catch pneumonia if she stays out in the rain." Mantaro announced.

"'Taro, I don't think that's a good idea. Lately she's been throwing blunt objects at people who've been trying to cheer her up!" Sieuchin commented.

"You mean it's not normal to be hit with blunt objects on a almost daily basis?" Mantaro asked, dead-set sincere. Since childhood, Mantaro had found himself hit with blunt objects raging from brooms to fresh fish on an almost daily basis, sometimes on accident, but mostly on purpose.

As Mantaro left, he heard these comments: "Hit with blunt objects on a daily basis. Somehow, that explains so much..." Gazelleman commented. But that wasn't the important one.

This was the important one: "I guess he really cares for her. I mean you don't risk getting hit by a blunt object just for someone you think is cute" commented Meat.

Did he really care for Jacqueline? Sure, he thought she was cute and not as mean as people perceived her to be. But did he "like" -like her? It's not like they had any type of even vaguely formal relationship.

He found himself rapidly ascending the steps towards Jacqueline. I guess my feelings towards her aren't important, as are her feelings towards her brother death. And that I don't get hit with a blunt object, Mantaro had a rare completely coherent thought.

Jacqueline didn't notice Mantaro sitting in the soggy seat next to her. She had a smile on her face, a plastic smile that gave a surreal image when juxtaposed with her tears.

"So Jacqueline, How are you holding up?" Mantaro braced himself to be hit.

"Mother always told me to smile. Told me to smile no matter what I really felt inside. I hated her, but I pretended to love her because Ikeman already hated her and one of else had to love her and it looked liked it had to be me..." Mantaro wasn't sure if he was talking to her or not.

"Ummmm...Jacqueline it's okay if you don't want to smile. It is a gloomy day and your brother is dead. If anything. today's the perfect day to frown."

"I really did hate her. I hated the way she always made feel bad about myself. I hated the way she manipulated me into loving her because Ikeman didn't." Jacqueline face became contorted with rage and she clenched her fists.

"Ohhh Jac-que--linnnnneee, your brother hates me because he's a bad boy! (Jacqueline's voice resembled a shrill woman's) You love me because you're a good girl right? It's very important that your a good girl because the world doesn't like bad girls. Your brother is a bad person and that's why he doesn't love me. No mom, he didn't love because you hit him and constantly dragged him down! He hated you for good reasons! Not because he was a bad boy!"

"Ummmm... Jacqueline, Isn't your mother dead? I mean I haven't seen her around and your dad's files lists him as a widow..." Mantaro unsuccessfully tried to bring Jacqueline back to reality.

"Yeah, she is and I'm glad. She killed herself and I saw it. I was upset at her for doing it so visibly. There was so much blood. Ikeman did it too. Just in a different way. He was nice enough not to leave any blood." Jacqueline muttered.

"Wasn't his death ruled an accident?"

"Mom wanted me to hate Ikeman like she did. But I didn't. At least not until he became chairman."

'Why?"

Jacqueline addressed Mantaro for the first time. "It meant guess it meant he was trying to one-up me. He was the only person in the world I didn't have to compete with. Mom made sure everyone else in the whole damn universe was my rival. Thanks a whole lot mom."

"Ummm...she's gone now?" Mantaro had no idea how to handle this intimate confession.

"The fact that my father went acknowledge how cruel my mother was, even though she was most cruel to him. My father didn't acknowledged how mean I was to Ikeman. Why is my father a fake? Why did he always ignore the strife in our family? For God's sake, mom beat the crap out of Ikeman almost on a daily basis! She made me so stressed out that once my hair started to fall out!"

"Maybe you should take it up with him?" Mantaro crudely suggested. He then prepared to have something thrown at him.

Jacqueline didn't. Mantaro was surprised

"But I also have something to take up with my brother. When took my father's place as chairman, he also started ignoring the past in order to have a father/son relationship with him. I was so angry with him for doing that. It was like Ikeman was giving up a piece of his self-respect. I argued about that with him. He was like: 'Jacqueline, why do you give a damn about my dignity? Your the one who mocks it most! And then"

"And then what?"

"Later that night he drove his car off a bridge! DAMN IT, HE DROVE HIS CAR OFF A BRIDGE! HE DROVE HIS CAR OFF A BRIDGE!" Jacqueline shouted over and over again.

"Jacqueline-"

"HE DROVE HIS CAR OFF A BRIDGE!"

"Jac-"

"HE DROVE HIS CAR OFF A BRIDGE!"

"JACQUELINE! LISTEN TO ME!" Jacqueline took notice of the now-screaming Mantaro.

"Ahem. That's better. Jacqueline, it was 2:30 a.m. in the morning when he drove his car in the afternoon. When did you confront him?

"Around 6:30 p.m."

"Jacqueline, it had been a suicide, it would have been near that time, while he still felt stung. The coroner ruled that it was sleep deprivation. Not suicide. Sleep deprivation. If he had left home earlier, he probably would have gotten some sleep, called you up the next morning and would have had an old-fashioned sibling screaming match with you that would have left you both really pissed off at each other. He died because he was too tired to stay awake behind the wheel, not because of anything you did or didn't say to him."

Jacqueline was expressionless, then she looked almost relieved.

"I guess I really needed to hear someone say that. I guess I really needed to tell someone the truth about my family's messed up history. I couldn't talk to my father because he ignores it. But I could talk to you about it. You, out of all the people in the world-"

Mantaro felt vaguely insulted.

"Thanks. I'll be sure to tell my father I talked to you about my messed up family, but not him. Maybe that'll get him to start talking about it." Jacqueline give him a peck on the check.

Mantaro was in a sudden and happy cationic state, little cartoon hearts floating above him.

"Damn. Everyone at Jack Splatt's is probably wondering where the hell I am!" Jacqueline check her watch as she walked away.

An hour or so later:

"He still hasn't moved Terry. He just sitting there in a happy little trance, those weird little hearts floating above him. It's creepy." Meat commented, staring at the glassy eyed, but happy Mantaro.

"Yeah, and if you try to touch of them hearts, it burns!" Terry blew on his burned fingers.

Author's notes: This story went through a lot of changes when I was writing it. It started out as a Jacqueline/Mantaro romance to Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" However, I just couldn't make it work out like that. So it become more of an examination on Jacqueline and how she related to her brother Ikeman, and I personally believe it came out better this way.


End file.
